Teen orders a ubuntu dell laptop, misses online classes


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As I sit here at my laptop with a smug, elite face, laughing at the pathetic girl with no-one to blame but herself. She must be an idiot and dumb for not knowing the difference between Ubuntu and Windows or OpenOffice and Word. Wait, does OpenOffice open DOC files?

/sarcasm in case your meter is broken

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this is why open source will never make it in the real world.

Open source already has a huge role in the real world... but stories like this one indicate why it may never have a positive impact on end users.

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This story makes it seem Ubuntu is the big bad bear compared to Windows, in reality it's simply the complete stupidity of the 'woman' that purchased the laptop for not educating herself. Surely when you spend that amount of money you check what you've bought?

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this is why open source will never make it in the real world.

SO, because people can not figure out that Open Office Write is the Linux equivalent to Word, Open source will never make it?

Or is it the part where she missed step one of her "Access to Internet" classes?

Steps to get online

1. Plug in cables. All of them. This would include Power, Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, and Ethernet.

2. Turn on computer using power button.

3. Clicky on the pretty internet icon. Be it an Internet Explorer Icon, or Firefox.

Next class, what to do with the internet, now that you are on line....

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Pretty much all the responses here are totally predictable, with Neowin being a tech forum, the monkeys have crawled out of the jungle and have started throwing excrement.

Having worked a bit with user support, it seems reasonable to me that not all things about a computer are instantly intuitive. An icon on the desktop called Microsoft Word doesn't instantly equate to "Click the round circle menu at the top left corner of the screen, then hover over Office/Productivity Software menu, and then click the one called OpenOffice Word Processor". Similarly, a blue E on the desktop called "Internet Explorer" doesn't instantly associate "Mozilla Firefox, the fox humping a blue circle".

Clearly this person is not a computer genius, but no one is born that way, and not everyone learns computing skills. Some people are just more used to scrawling out integrals on a chalk board, and never quite found computers to be any more than a tool with a lot of extraneous functions, which they use occasionally.

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wow..i'm kind of disgusted in the responses here...not really they just seem to be from arrogant linux fanboys :p

she probably thought ubuntu was some kind of feature and that all the dell machines had window so mentioning it would kind of be stupid (kind of interested in why she said she paid for it)

she was told the pc would do what she needs and that she does not need to replace ubuntu for windows

That is bad information it will not do what she needs as shes not familiar with the new os

this doesn't make her stupid or uneducated and she definetly shouldn't have to "educate herself" on another operating system

She bought the pc for her course not to screw around with linux and "educate herself" on something she has absolutely no interest in

the person she contacted at dell should be sacked for tricking her into keeping that os ubuntu isn't user friendly for the average individual she tried to work with it but her software didn't work and she was unaware of any linux software which is fine everyone starts off like that but they have time to look around and she obviously did not

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Oh my god! I can't install the Verizon bloatware that is not needed at ALL to access my internet!

yes it is, if shes using Verizons wireless internet service the cd is highly needed.

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yes it is, if shes using Verizons wireless internet service the cd is highly needed.

+1

was going to bring his post up but i missed it

just typical response from linux fanboys it seems :p

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she probably thought ubuntu was some kind of feature and that all the dell machines had window so mentioning it would kind of be stupid (kind of interested in why she said she paid for it)

It's not a matter of computer skills, but reading skills. From the dell site, right when you access the linux section:

Not sure Open Source is for You?

The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don?t get a Windows? operating system. If you?re here by mistake and you are looking for a Dell PC with Windows, please use the following link.

Shop Dell PCs with Windows

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i'm sorry but she's pretty pathetic for

1. not looking at the order

2. not having half a brain cell to check on google to see if her laptop is xp/vista compatible

3. doing something about it, instead of telling her 'sob' story

4. for being utterly isolated from the 21st century, Ubuntu hello? geez...what's next, 'dunno' where the power button is, my msn says im 'online' :p

Ubuntu isn't exactly that well know yet. Not outside of the tech community at least.

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Hell, just give her a Mac and be done with it. I'm sure it would go great with her pink-cased iPod. :p

But all fun aside, I find this particularly disturbing:

When she realized her mistake, she tried to go back to Windows, but she was discouraged from doing so.

It's one thing if you want to get your buddy hooked up with Linux, it's an entirely different ballgame when you're a CSR or a company rep tasked with addressing a customer's needs and requests.

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I'm not a Linux fanboy, or a Windows fanboy, or even a Mac fanboy..

*I live best in Dos believe it or not.

Anyway, I have to say..

Why did she take the sales persons word?

If she knew she knew Windows and was so scared about going to a new Operating System, she should of listened to herself instead of listening to the sales person. When you make up your mind, know what you want otherwise, like this person you'll get screwed. I'm just shocked and amazed she thought that she could learn a new operating system in time for her classes. That's kinda silly.

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It just didn't detect my network card, so i had the seemingly impossible task of finding the network card drivers, which was complicated as hell.

As soon as i found them i then had to learn how to use the terminal thing to install the, which took even more time.

eventually i got it to work, but it was so slow, and i have super fast broadband internet. Just wasnt worth it.

i can only imagine how hard it would be for a non tech savy girl.

She bought a computer with ubuntu preinstalled. All the hardware is supported, so you don't have to deal with drivers.

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Seems you missed the whole point of the story. Ubuntu may be one of the better distros of Linux, but it still has a LONG way to go before it can be used by the average person.

The point is that the average person just simply wants their PC to work, regardless of OS.

I think she is complete idiot. I prefer Windows but I know Ubuntu and I happened to have Verizon (FiOS). All she needed to do was plug in her laptop to the router OR enter the wireless config for her Verizon router which the Verizon technicians write down for you.

In either case - a "quick" call to Dell and/or Verizon would have solved her problem.

And lastly, who seriously drops classes because they can't use internet? Just plain ****ing dumb.

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She bought a computer with ubuntu preinstalled. All the hardware is supported, so you don't have to deal with drivers.

Re-read the original article.

She could of gotten windows but she said that the sales person said Ubuntu would be better for her .. so she went with the sales persons word not knowing ANYTHING about the new operating system.

SHE CHOSE IT.

It's her fault.

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Re-read the original article.

She could of gotten windows but she said that the sales person said Ubuntu would be better for her .. so she went with the sales persons word not knowing ANYTHING about the new operating system.

SHE CHOSE IT.

It's her fault.

I wasn't commenting on whether she chose it or not, but on Basket Case's adventures with drivers on ubuntu.

In this case, whatever problems she had with Ubuntu it wasn't because of hardware support and driver installation as it came preinstalled with her laptop, so that's a non-issue.

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this is entirely her own fault. not due to lack of knowledge but just because she should have returned it immediately when she realise she hadn't received the product she expected.

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It's her fault. If she had any intelligence she'd order a Windows OS online. If the laptop came with Ubuntu she wouldn't have to pay for the OS in the price with the laptop, so she wouldn't be losing much money buying a separate OS. Then she should have gotten someone to install it on her laptop for her. It's ridiculous that this is a news story.

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yes it is, if shes using Verizons wireless internet service the cd is highly needed.

Verizon wireless card is detected as a MODEM, and uses a standard dialer to use. NO you do not need the cd. I have never needed one for mine.

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Her Verizon High-Speed Internet CD won't load, so she can't access the internet. She also can't install Microsoft Word, which she says is a requirement for MATC's online classes.

Well I guess she doesn't know much about computers so I can see why she'd think that...

As a result, with no internet and no Microsoft Word, Schubert dropped out of MATC's fall and spring semesters.

wtf :|

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